Pilot plant study
Monday 23 May 2005
Starting in November 2001, the Agency undertook a study to assess the extent of changes to working practices and resource costs from the implementation of HACCP procedures in a number of small to medium sized meat plants.
7 plants (1 in Scotland, 2 in Wales and 4 in England) participated in the pilot study. Two staff from each plant received two days training and received consultancy advice to get them started. They took an average of 3-4 months to put together their HACCP plans.
The Pilot Study produced some important lessons which informed the Agency’s implementation strategy (including some of the steps described below), and advice based on the pilot plant’s experiences has been passed on to smaller operators.
In an independent review of the Study, operators in the pilot plants talked about greater awareness of controls in general and one said he was moving from ‘writing things up at the end of the day’ to ‘checking and recording as you go’. The following changes had had the most impact:
- Improved, structured monitoring and record keeping.
- Improved cleaning. In some cases the HACCP study had brought about a change in the type of chemicals used.
- Improved temperature monitoring.
- Improved and structured training e.g. induction process.
- Improved and clearer criteria for acceptance or rejection of cattle.
The main issue was the resource required to measure the parameters now demanded and to keep the records up to date.
